On This Day: February 14

On This Day February 14

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1818 – Former slave-turned-civil rights activist Frederick Douglass (d. 1895)

1894 – Legendary comedian Jack Benny, born Benjamin Kubelsky (d. 1974)

1913 – American labor union leader Jimmy Hoffa, who disappeared under mysterious circumstances (d. 1975)

1921 – Retired Emmy-winning TV anchor-host Hugh Downs (“Today” show, “20/20”)

1934 – Actress Florence Henderson, best remembered for playing Carol Brady on the sitcom “The Brady Bunch” (d. 2016)

1942 – Businessman and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg

1944 – Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and former “Washington Post” reporter Carl Bernstein, who, along with colleague Bob Woodward, broke the Watergate story that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon 

1960 – Golden Globe-winning actress Meg Tilly (“The Big Chill,” “Agnes of God”) 

1970 – Actor Simon Pegg (“Shaun of the Dead,” “Hot Fuzz,” “The World’s End,” “Spaced,” “Star Trek,” “Star Trek Into Darkness,” “Mission: Impossible”)  

1972 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and Matchbox Twenty frontman Rob Thomas 

History Highlights
History Highlights

1849 – James Polk becomes the first American president to be photographed while in office.

1920 – The League of Women Voters is established as a “political experiment” designed to help 20 million women carry out their new responsibilities as voters. It encouraged them to use their new power to participate in shaping public policy.

1924 – International technology giant IBM (International Business Machines Corp.) is founded and eventually becomes known as “Big Blue.”

1929 – Seven rivals of mobster Al Capone are gunned down in a Chicago garage during the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.

1962 – First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy gives Americans an intimate, televised tour of The White House, hosted by CBS News correspondent Charles Collingwood. Although produced by CBS, the special airs on all three major TV networks the same week and is eventually broadcast in other countries, reaching an estimated global audience of some 80 million viewers.

1988 – U.S. speed skater Dan Jansen, a favorite to win the gold medal in the 500-meter race at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, falls during competition, only hours after learning his sister had died of cancer.

1989 – Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini calls on Muslims to kill “The Satanic Verses” author Salman Rushdie because his book mocked or at least contained mocking references to the Prophet Muhammad and other aspects of Islam.

2018 – An expelled student enters Parkland, Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and opens fire, killing 17 people and wounding 17 others, in what becomes the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1967 – Aretha Franklin records the soul single, “Respect,” at the Atlantic Records studio in New York. The now-classic track, which was written by Otis Redding, climbs to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 that June.

1970 – ”Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin),” by Sly & the Family Stone, is the hottest song on the radio.

1972 – John Lennon and Yoko Ono serve as co-hosts of “The Mike Douglas Show” for an entire week.

1981 – “Celebration,” by Kool & the Gang, begins its second and final week as the No. 1 single.

1987 – Bon Jovi grabs hold of the top spot on the Billboard singles chart for four weeks with “Livin’ on a Prayer,” off the “Slippery When Wet” album.

1998 – Usher has his first No. 1 single with “Nice & Slow.” The track remains a Billboard chart-topper for two weeks.

2004 – “The Way You Move,” by OutKast featuring Sleepy Brown, is the No. 1 single.

2015 – “Uptown Funk,” by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars, is in the midst of a 14-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

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On this Day: August 26

On this Day August 26

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1896 – Comedian, vaudeville actor, composer, songwriter, accordionist and author Phil Baker (d. 1963)

1910 – Mother Teresa, considered one of the 20th Century’s greatest humanitarians and canonized as Saint Teresa of Calcutta in 2016. (d. 1997)

1918 – Mathematician Katherine Johnson, whose calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first crewed American space mission and moon landing; she was among the women profiled in the book and movie “Hidden Figures” (d. 2020)

1921 – Washington Post VP at-large Ben Bradlee, who oversaw publication of stories that ultimately exposed the Watergate scandal (d. 2014)

1935 – First female U.S. vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro (d. 2011)

1945 – Singer-songwriter Valerie Simpson of the Ashford & Simpson husband-wife songwriting team

1960 – Grammy-winning saxophonist-bandleader Branford Marsalis

1970 – Emmy-winning actress-comedian Melissa McCarthy (“Gilmore Girls,” “Bridesmaids,” “The Heat,” “Tammy,” “St. Vincent,” “This is 40,” “Spy,” “The Boss”)

1980 – Actor Chris Pine, who played Captain James T. Kirk in the 2009 “Star Trek” movie and its sequels

1980 – Actor Macaulay Culkin, best known for the “Home Alone” movie franchise

1989 –  NBA All-Star and Houston Rockets guard James Harden, a.k.a. “The Beard”

History Highlights
History Highlights

1920 – The 19th Amendment, guaranteeing American women the right to vote, is formally adopted into the U.S. Constitution by proclamation of Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby. In 1973, Congress designates this date Women’s Equality Day.

1939 – The first Major League baseball game is televised. It’s a double-header between the Cincinnati Reds and Brooklyn Dodgers at New York’s Ebbets Field, with the teams splitting the match. 

1957 – The Soviet Union declares that it has successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of being fired “into any part of the world.” The announcement sets nations around the world on edge.

1968 – As the Democratic National Convention opens in Chicago, thousands of demonstrators take to the streets to protest the Vietnam War. 

1974 – Aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh, the first man to fly solo non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean, dies of cancer in Hawaii at the age of 72. 

1985 – The Yugo, the Yugoslavian-built compact car that Americans loved to hate, is introduced to the U.S. auto market. Sales begin to sputter in the late 1980s, and by 1992, Yugo America is out of business.

1986 – In what becomes known as the “Preppy Murder” case because of the upper-class status of both the victim and killer, the body of 18-year-old Jennifer Levin is discovered in New York’s Central Park shortly after leaving a bar with 19-year-old Robert Chambers. Chambers is arrested, charged and ultimately found guilty of Levin’s murder, and dubbed the “Preppy Killer.”

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1972 – Looking Glass is captain of the singles chart with “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl).” 

1978 – The title track from the movie “Grease,” starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, is a No. 1 single for Frankie Valli. The song holds the top spot for two weeks.

1987 – Pop singer-turned-politician Sonny Bono announces plans to run for mayor of Palm Springs, California.

1989 – Richard Marx begins his third and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Right Here Waiting.”

1995 – The No. 1 single comes from the “Batman Forever” soundtrack. It’s Seal with “Kiss From a Rose,” which goes on to capture Grammys for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

2004 – Singer Laura Branigan, best known for her early 80s hits “Gloria” and “Self Control,” dies of a brain aneurysm at the age of 52. Branigan also played Janis Joplin in the off-Broadway musical “Love, Janis.”

2006 – Fergie has the No. 1 single with “London Bridge.”

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